Hidden manufacturer&#39;s joint



April 1966 A. R. CHAPMAN 3,245,604

HIDDEN MANUFACTURERS JQINT Filed June 10, 1963 Fig. 2 m :2 32

W l 32 I5 3 II III INVENTOR A lberf Chapman 32 30 BY HIS A TTOR/VEY United States Patent 3,245,684 HIDDEN MANUFACTURERS JOINT Albert R. Chapman, Corning, N.Y., assignor to (Iorning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 10, 19453, Ser. No. 286,637 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-48) This invention relates to improved corrugated carton construction for providing such cartons with a finished aesthetic appearance, and more particularly to an improved manufacturers joint construction and corrugated cartons wherein a single liner flap extends over the raw edge of the mannfactures joint.

In the past, corrugated boxes were primarily utilized as shipping containers. In recent years, however, through the use of improved graphics, the corrugated box has become a consumer package. Although the aesthetic appeal of such corrugated cartons has been enhanced by the utilization of modern graphic techniques, nothing has been done to eliminate the crude and unsightly raw-edged structural configurations inherently produced in the formation of such cartons.

Presently, such car-tons are manufactured from a blank having a glue flap at one end, which is secured, by suitable adhesive, to the inner surface of an end panel at the op posite end of the blank. The resulting connection is known as a manufacturers joint. However, the container exhibits the raw corrugated edge of the side panel iorming the manufacturers joint, adjacent either a front or rear panel of the carbon. Such raw corrugated edge materially detracts from the aesthetic appeal produced by the improved graphics, thus lessening their value in providing an acceptable consumer package.

My invention includes the utilization of a single liner flap, formed integrally with the corrugated board from which the car-ton is produced, for covering or overlying the raw edge of the manufacturers joint, and an improved method for forming such single liner flap.

It thus has been an object of my invention to provide an improved structure for corrugated containers which enhances the aesthetic appeal thereof for utilization as a consumer package.

A further object of my invention has been to provide means for covering or overlying the raw edge of a manuiacturers joint on corrugated containers.

An additional object of my invention has been to provide a simple method of forming a flap for overlying the raw edge of a manufacturers joint.

These and other objects of my invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for forming a corrugated container embodying a hidden manufacturers joint in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmental view in elevation illustrating the positionment of a single liner flap overlying the raw edge of a manu-facturers joint with the carton in a flattened position such as when storing or warehousing; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmental view illustrating the single liner flap overlying the raw edge of the manufacturers joint when the carton in an assembled position.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly FIG. 1, a carton blank formed of corrugated board is shown having a glue flap 11, a rear panel 12, side or end panels '13 .and 15, and a front panel 14, all of which are of known construction in the industry. However, end panel 15, which is at the opposite end of the blank from glue flap 11, is provided with an extra flap formed integrally therewith. Although the carton may be provided ice with any suitable top and bot-tom closure means, such as the commonly utilized interlocking bottom flaps, or overlying taped or adhesively bound top flaps, tab-locking cover flaps are shown for the purpose of illustration. The top closure means is shown comprising a top flap 17 having a tongue 18, a pair of side flaps 19 and 20, and an inner top flap 21 having a locking tab 22 formed partially therein. In like manner, the bottom closure means is shown comprising a bottom fiap 23 having a tongue 24, a pair of bottom end flaps 25 and 26, and an inner bottom flap 27 having a locking tab 28 formed partially therein. The glue flap -11 and panels 12, 13, 14 and 15 are separated by conventional score lines 11 1, 1'12, '113 and 114, respectively. However, tab 16 is separated from end panel 15 by means of a slit score 116 formed on an inner surface of the blank 10.

The blank 10, and the resulting carton formed therefrom, may be made of any known type of corrugated board. Although single wall board is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 for purposes of illustration, it is also possible to utilize double wall board or triple wall board. The single wall board is shown having an outer liner 30, a corrugating medium 31, and an inner liner 32.

In preparing a single liner flap 16 from tab 16, for hiding or overlying the raw edge of the manufacturers joint, inner liner 32 and corrugating medium 31 are slit scored at 116, as mentioned above. The inner liner and corrugating medium may then be easily removed by milling them olf with a molding head cutter attachment. The molding head cutter may be easily attached to presently known gluing machines used to make manufacturers joints, thereby eliminating the need of a separate operation and separate machinery. Upon stripping the inner liner 32 and corrugating medium 31 from the flap 16 by means of the milling operation, the thin outer liner flap 16' is left extending from outer liner 30. The manuiacturers joint is then made by gluing the glue flap 1:1 to the inner surface of end panel 15, and outer liner flap 16 is glued to rear panel 12 so as to overlie the raw edge of side or end panel 15, .thus hiding or concealing the manufacturers joint.

The outer liner flap not only materially increases the aesthetic appearance of the resulting carton, but also provides a more secure joint by allowing the glue or adhesive to be spread out to the edge of the glue flap. Previously, in order to avoid excess glue from seeping to the outside of the car-ton, and thus produce an unattractive appearance, corrugated box manufacturers had a tendency to interrupt the application of adhesive prior to reaching the edge portions of the glue flap. In addition, the exposed raw edge of the old type of manufacturers joint, being an abrupt and unfinished edge, was subject to abrasion and peeling, thus tending to not only deface the carton but also loosen the joint. With the application of my overlying outer liner ilap, which covers and hides the raw edge of the joint with a smooth flowing surface, abrasion is materially reduced thus facilitating the securement of the joint as a permanent fixture.

Although I have disclosed the now preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing firom the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

An improved manufacturers joint construction for forming a carton by securing together opposite ends of a blank formed of corrugated board having an inner liner, an outer liner, and at least one corrugating medium which comprises, a first wall panel adjacent one end of the blank having a glue flap formed integrally thereon of the same board thickness as said first panel, a second Wall panel adjacent the opposite end of said blank positioned 3,245,eoa

adhesively secured to an inner, liner of said second wall panel, and said outer liner flap overlying theraw edge of said second wall panel and being adhe-sively secured to the outer liner of said first wall panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 941,256 11/1909 Jenkins. 1,203,616 11/1916 Hawkins. 1,299,824 4/1919 Cullen.

1/ 1927 Romer. 4/ 1951 Bennett 229-48 6/1955 Schroeder et al. 1/ 1956 Geisler et al. 5/1961 Knutsson-Hall 93-36 l/196'2 Parks 22948 2/1963 Kuchenbecker 229-48 X 6/1964 Elliott 93 36 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/ 1958 Netherlands.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

